Ken
Ken Masters (ケン・マスターズ, Ken Masutāzu?) is one of the main characters from the Street Fighter series of fighting games alongside Ryu, having made appearances in all major incarnations of the series. He has also appeared in various installments of the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Profile Ken was born in the USA and is a proud member of the Masters family. He trained in the martial arts alongside Ryu under Master Gouken. Ryu is Ken's best friend and greatest rival. Ken has entered all kinds of martial arts tournaments and won many titles from his tours around the world. He has long blond hair and a bright red uniform, which he uses to intimidate his foes in the ring. Unlike Ryu, who only lives for the fight, Ken has a close relationship with his wife Eliza, with whom he has a son named Mel. Although his core fighting techniques are similar to Ryu's, their current training methods and overall personalities create subtle differences between them. While Ryu specializes in using his Fireball-based attacks, Ken has mastered the Dragon Punch to deadly effect. His improved Dragon Punch techniques, mixed with the many other attacks at his disposal, make him a very capable opponent. Appearances Street Fighter Series Ken made his first appearance in the original Street Fighter released in 1987. The character's name was originally spelled in Japanese as 拳 (Ken), which is the kanji character for fist, although Capcom dropped this in subsequent games, spelling his name in katakana instead (ケン). Ken is described as a former sparring partner, rival and best friend of the main character, Ryu, who trained under the same master (a character whose identity would later be fleshed out as Gouken). Within the actual game, Ken is for all intents and purpose a clone of Ryu controlled by the second player during competitive matches, with the only distinguishing aspects being that Ken wears a red karate gi, has blond hair and fights barefoot (in the original game, Ryu wears red slippers). The single-player tournament can only be played with Ken after the second player defeats the first player in a two-player match. Ken and Ryu, along with former final boss Sagat, would be the only characters from the original Street Fighter to return in the game's true sequel, Street Fighter II, first released in 1991. In Street Fighter II, Ken is invited to participate in the World Warrior tournament by Ryu, with Ken having already moved away from Japan to live in America. In Ken's ending, he ends up marrying his girlfriend Eliza. Street Fighter II was a breakaway hit for Capcom, leading to the production of revised editions of the same game which included Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting in 1992, Super Street Fighter II in 1993 and Super Turbo in 1994, which all follow the same plot. Numerous spin-off products were made as well during the game's popularity: when Capcom licensed Hasbro to produced a line of action figures, Capcom were forced to give Ken the surname "Masters" to distinguish the character from Mattel's Ken Carson character from the Barbie toyline. The full name Ken Masters would be used in the animated Street Fighter II movie and in the Street Fighter II V series before being canonized in the games. An all-new Street Fighter game would not be released until 1995, when Street Fighter Alpha was released. Plotwise, the game is a prequel to the Street Fighter II games which fleshed out the established Street Fighter II characters, as well as reintroduced characters from the original Street Fighter and the beat-em-up Final Fight. Alpha features a younger Ken, who is searching for Ryu, having recently won the first "World Warrior" tournament in the events of the original Street Fighter. In Ken's ending in the original Street Fighter Alpha, he defeats Ryu and heads back to America, where he meets his future girlfriend and wife Eliza. Street Fighter Alpha would be followed by its own line of sequels: Street Fighter Alpha 2, which follows the same plot as in the original Alpha (with a revised ending for Ken); and Street Fighter Alpha 3, which takes place after the events in the first two games. In Alpha 3, Ken is featured in the numerous characters' storylines within the game. Street Fighter III (released in 1997), features an older Ken, who is now married to Eliza and has a son with her named Mel. He also takes a young student named Sean under his wing. Street Fighter III was followed by 2nd Impact released during the same year and 3rd Strike in 1999. Ken, along with Ryu, are seen sparring with each other in the trailer to the upcoming Street Fighter IV, although both characters' roles in the game are unknown at this point. Ken was confirmed as a playable character for Street Fighter IV on December 6, 2007. The story of IV will be set between Street Fighter II and III. Other Games Outside the mainstream Street Fighter games, Ken appears in 3D form in the Street Fighter EX games, in his Alpha incarnation in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes and in a new form based on his Street Fighter II incarnation in Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2. He also appears in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos by SNK Playmore, where he has an alter-ego named Violent Ken. Trivia In Ken's stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2, cameo appearances are made by Pure from Capcom World 2, Felicia, Morrigan, Unknown Soldiers 1 and 2 from Forgotten Worlds (next to Morrigan), Linn Kurosawa from Alien Vs. Predator (coming out of the pool), Strider, Captain Commando and Ginzu. Ken is not a real blond; he dyes his hair for appearance purposes. Despite what some fans may assume because of his blond hair, he is three-quarters Japanese, and one-quarter American. His father is Japanese and his mother is half-American and half-Japanese. Gallery Image:StreetFighterKen.png|''Street Fighter'' Image:SFIIKen.png|''Street Fighter II'' Image:SSFIIKen.png|''Super Street Fighter II'' Image:SSFIITurboKen.png|''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' by Bengus Image:SFAKen.png|''Street Fighter Alpha'' Image:SFA2Ken.png|''Street Fighter Alpha 2'' Image:XSFKen.png|''X-Men vs. Street Fighter'' Image:SFA3Ken.png|''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' Image:MarSFKen.png|''Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter'' Image:SFIIIKen.png|''Street Fighter III: New Generation'' Image:SFIIIKen2.png|''Street Fighter III: New Generation'' Image:SFIII2ndKen.png|''Street Fighter III 2nd Impact'' Image:SFIII3rdKen.png|''Street Fighter III 3rd Strike'' Image:CapSNKKen.png|''Capcom vs. SNK'' Image:MarCap2Ken.png|''Marvel vs. Capcom 2'' Image:SVCSNKCapKen.png|''SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' Image:SFIVKen.png|''Street Fighter IV'' Image:StreetFighterAlpha2-USA(Ken).png|Ken's Stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Category:Street Fighter Characters